Obama knows someone w/ LBD...

[Guest guest]

recalls election night moment with Obama

November 13, 2008

By Ed Tibbits

On a night when the world watched Barack Obama make history by

becoming the first African-American to be elected president, former

U.S. Rep. Lane had a rare opportunity to meet with him

personally.

, who represented Illinois' 17th Congressional District from

1983 to 2007, met with Obama just hours before the president-elect

would mount a stage in Chicago's Grant Park and give a historic

victory speech.

The meeting, at a Chicago hotel in the late afternoon, was a poignant

encounter, according to a person who was there. And it was a nod from

the man who is about to become the most powerful person in the world

to someone who endorsed him early on but is fighting two debilitating

diseases.

" It was very quiet, very personal, " said Cher kson, the guardian

for the former congressman who is battling Parkinson's and Lewy body

disease, a leading cause of degenerative dementia.

, who is 57, lives at an assisted living center in Silvis, Ill.

He has difficulty finishing his thoughts, and his sentences meander.

But in an interview Thursday, he said the meeting between him and the

incoming president was a memorable moment.

" It was everything you'd imagine, " he said.

It isn't unusual that Obama and meet personally. The president-

elect has repeatedly praised the Rock Island Democrat, and when Obama

was in Davenport in August, the two met.

But this meeting, on a historic night, was particularly meaningful

for , kson said. The two talked about the campaign and

' early support for Obama.

In June 2003, endorsed Obama from a pack of better-known

suitors for the Democratic nomination to run for an open U.S. Senate

seat. At the time, Obama called a hero and said his endorsement

was an " enormous boost. "

Now, it's who is effusive in his praise of the president-elect.

" I think he'll be a great president, " he said.

Obama and spent 20 to 25 minutes together.

, kson and another friend later went to Grant Park to watch

the president-elect give his acceptance speech in a VIP area.

They were among political friends of Obama's, as well as celebrities,

such as Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

Pitt came over to shake ' hand, kson said, and even gave her

a kiss on the cheek. " It was a pretty cool time, " she said.

is planning to go to the inauguration in January in Washington,

D.C.

It is the beginning of a new era, said, and he made clear he's

eager to see a change in administrations.

While a congressman, was harshly critical of the Bush

administration. He thinks with Democrats now controlling the White

House and Congress, there will be substantial change.

" I think it's a pretty large mandate, " he said.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/5qq8wa

{PS I wonder when Oprah met this man did she think about a letter she

had received months ago requesting she do an episode about LBD...

SIGH... But chances are she didn't even read the letter... that

it's hidden away among the millions of other letters she gets... But

had she read it... maybe she's thinking that she could invite

as well as Graboys to the show... }